Four-fifths believe the regulation will give their business a competitive advantage

With a matter of days until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) deadline on May 25th 2018, NetApp research highlights an atmosphere of optimism as almost all (88%) IT decision-makers in the Financial Services Industry (FSI) think that GDPR compliance will give them a competitive advantage. This is mirrored by high levels of confidence in achieving compliance, with almost all FSI businesses (96%) saying they know where at least some of their data is stored. The level of GDPR preparedness is indicative of the industry being above the overall UK figures when it comes to recognising data as being business critical (92%).

FSI embraces GDPR business benefits: The UK’s FSI businesses are overwhelmingly united by the level of optimism around the competitive advantage to be gained from GDPR compliance. The majority of respondents (88%) believe the regulation will boost the competiveness of their company to some extent. Almost a quarter of FSI businesses (21%) say it will improve their position against competitors specifically outside of the EU, and over a third (38%) say it will improve their position against all competitors. However, 13% of FSI businesses believe there is no competitive advantage to be gained. This is in line with the overall UK figure (13%).

Compliance confidence is high, as deadline approaches: One key to GDPR compliance is to know where all data is stored and located, to respond effectively to a potential data breach, within the 48 hours set out by the GDPR. NetApp’s survey found that 42% of respondents in FSI are confident in knowing specifically where all their data is stored, and 54% are confident in knowing where some of their data is stored. However, only 4% of respondents are still not confident in knowing where their data is stored, which is below the overall UK figure (16%).

Data is business critical, as reflected by GDPR preparations: Almost all respondents (92%) from FSI believe data is business critical, which is 5% above the overall UK figure (87%). Recognising the priceless value of data is reflected in the level of preparations undertaken by FSI businesses in the last 24 months. Almost half of respondents (46%) have received external consultancy from GDPR experts to help decide upon a cloud strategy, while a third (33%) are already implementing a strategy based on the recommendations of external consultancy and GDPR experts. Meanwhile, 50% have already implemented a GDPR strategy based on an internal review of the way they handle data.

Nick Thurlow, NetApp UK Director:“The GDPR deadline is almost upon us and it is no surprise that the financial services industry is ahead of the game when it comes to embracing the business benefits of GDPR. Compliance will be worn like a badge of honour, instilling the necessary confidence in consumers who entrust businesses with their data privacy. Based at the heart of an industry facing heavy disruption as digital transformation takes hold, and under scrutiny when it comes to accountability, FSI businesses are right to welcome the competitive edge that GDPR compliance entails. Meanwhile, the level of confidence in knowing where FSI data lies is encouraging as the deadline approaches, and the extremely small segment of businesses in this sector that still lack confidence in knowing where their data is stored suggests the industry is taking preparations seriously. The road to GDPR compliance has been long and winding, but once businesses pull together and place data privacy at the heart of the ecosystem, demonstrating their proactivity, they are already on a fast-track to compliance.”

NetApp’s survey was conducted in March 2018 by Opinion Matters amongst IT decision-makers (IT managers, CIOs and CTOs) across 227 UK-based business with 100+ employees.

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